Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems; and, more particularly, to ranging and ranging related communications within such communication systems.
Description of Related Art
Data communication systems have been under continual development for many years. The primary goal within such communication systems is to transmit information successfully between devices. Communications between devices can be governed by a number of operational parameters. One such operation that can be performed within such communication systems is ranging. Ranging is a process by which characteristics of the communication pathway between first and second communication devices can be determined.
A first communication device transmits a ranging signal to a second communication device, and the second communication device processes the ranging signal to determine one or more characteristics of the communication pathway between the first and second communication devices. Then, the second communication device communicates with the first communication device using one or more operational parameters that are selected based on the one or more characteristics of that communication pathway. Examples of such operational parameters may relate to transmission power and timing based on the distance between the first and second communication devices as well as any particular characteristics of the communication pathway between them.
Unfortunately, within many communication systems, such ranging can be problematic between the communication devices and performed very inefficiently. Generally, the first communication device attempts to connect to the communication system or network and transmits a ranging signal to the second communication device via a communication pathway within the communication system. However, the communication device may being ranging blindly, in that, the first communication device doesn't know where it is located within the communication system relative to the second communication device to which the first communication device is ranging. Because of this and other deficiencies in the prior art, the first communication device oftentimes must transmit multiple respective ranging signals before achieving any successful ranging. The prior art does not provide an adequate means by which ranging can be performed effectively and efficiently within such communication systems.